E-27 Cutlass bearing

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Sparky84041

Junior Member
I’m a new E-27 owner, and it appears I have a Cutlass bearing issue. The bearing has separated from the strut, and will need to be fixed. I assumed I just need to attach to the brass (?) casing to the strut and all would be good; however, all the pictures that I have seen – it appears there should be a casing around the bearing attached to the strut. This doesn’t seem to be what I have. The brass casing will slide along the shaft without any resistance. Does the Cutlass bearing go inside the brass casing? Am I ok to reattach (weld), the casing back to the strut?

Oh, and from the picture, you’ll note I’ll be needing a new prop.
 

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bayhoss

bayhoss

Member III
Seems worse

From what I'm seeing the housing that the bearing is in has become seperated form the strut. You may be in need of a replacement strut to go along with the replacement prop. Yes, the bearing goes inside the casing. I'd be careful with a weld, you can transfer a great deal of heat to the fiberglass in the hull. Softer materials like the strut transfer heat very quickly. If you go with a weld get someone who absolutly knows what they are doing. Sorry !:esad:
Best,
Frank
 
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Mark F

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Hi Dan,

It does look like you have a strut issue. You will probably need to replace the strut. I've never done it on an E27 but I did help a friend with a Catalina 30 replace his. If they are the same you will need to grind out the fiberglass above the strut (from inside the boat) to pull the strut up and out. If you can get it welded that would certainly be easier.
 
tenders

tenders

Innocent Bystander
I'm guessing the factors that caused the tube in the strut to separate from the strut are the same that ate the prop: there is, or was, a severe electrolysis problem going on there. Welding a new casing onto the end of that strut is going to be like attaching good metal to Swiss cheese. It's a big project I think but you need to replace the whole thing.
 
Poco A Poco

Poco A Poco

Member I
Mark F said:
Hi Dan,

It does look like you have a strut issue. You will probably need to replace the strut. I've never done it on an E27 but I did help a friend with a Catalina 30 replace his. If they are the same you will need to grind out the fiberglass above the strut (from inside the boat) to pull the strut up and out. If you can get it welded that would certainly be easier.
Click to expand...


No interior grinding is necessary :)jawsdown:), the strut is beded and through bolted and then faired over on the outside.

3476-1-lg.jpg


Replace the strut, at the point your at it's not a hard to do job and there's just fairing compound covering it up.
 
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Sparky84041

Junior Member
This picture is what began to make me wonder. However, I believe the strut is a different material than the casing left on the shaft. How can that be?

Apparently to get to the strut, the gas tank will need to be removed. I found a work ticket from the PO, showing the strut was louse and need to be tightened. To fix the job, the marina wanted to remove the gas tank, but the PO didn’t want that - so they tightened the strut from the exterior and re-fiberglassed over it. How I’m not sure.

It still doesn’t make since - because the material (the strut and the casing) seem to be dissimilar.

I was really hoping for a quick weld job, but the swiss cheese comment above, and my own little voice inside, is suggesting otherwise.
 
mherrcat

mherrcat

Contributing Partner
For the strut to have separated like that it would appear that it was not cast as a single piece. The sleeve for the cutless bearing may have been brazed onto the strut itself. In which case the two metals may have been different types of bronze. (Unless brazing those two pieces together is standard procedure.)

Replacing the strut is the only way to do it correctly and you probably will have to do some interior fiberglassing work. Removing the fuel tank is not that big a deal, unless it will not fit trough the lazarette. It is something you can do yourself.

Now would be a good time to look at refurbishing the complete drive train from shaft coupling, to stuffing box, to pedro hose, to cutless bearing and having the prop shaft cleaned up and straightened if necessary.

Check the fuel tank for any signs of corrosion and clean it out while it is out of the boat, too.

Since the engine alignment to the prop shaft is important, replacing that strut is not something I think would want to tackle on my own without help from someone with experience.
 
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crznhwy1

Member II
Dan, I replaced the rusted out gas tank on my E27 not too long ago. If you'd like to come out to the GSL Marina, I can show you how I did it. A lot of folks said it would be darn near impossible, but it wasn't bad at all. Just message me.

Mike
'73 Ericson 27 #359
 
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